


Everything's Fine

by baileaves



Category: Ratchet & Clank
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-30
Updated: 2017-08-13
Packaged: 2018-08-11 22:15:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7909612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baileaves/pseuds/baileaves
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set during Ratchet and Clank Deadlocked (Gladiator). Ace decides that he needs to take down Ratchet once and for all, even if that means doing something...unethical.<br/>Originally Posted on FF.net on: 2/10/15</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Damn it!" Gleeman Vox cried slamming a fist on his desk. The show producer had just finished watching footage of the nobody lombax, Ratchet, taking down his latest exterminator, The Eviscerator.

"Why won't that little bastard die?!" Vox screeched turning his attention from the tape to his last living exterminator, Ace Hardlight.

"Don't worry boss, I'll have that rat bleeding and begging for mercy when he goes up against me." Ace said proudly jabbing a thumb to his chest.

"You better hope so," Vox said seriously, bringing his face close to the mercenary.

"Because, if you don't kill that little rat, I'll kill you myself."

Ace gulped as Vox spun in his chair and flicked on the holovision.

"Now, get out of my office." Gleeman Vox called over his shoulder as he stroked his pet in his arms.

Ace nearly tripped as he quickly made his way to the door and down the hallway. His mind was aflutter with the upcoming fight and his boss's words.

He was going to take down that lombax, and it was going to be a piece of cake. All those other exterminators were nothing compared to him. He had made it this far and nothing was going to tear him down. Yet Vox's threats stuck in his mind. Was there more to Ratchet than he thought? Could his life of luxury come crashing down, all from some little space rat?

It was in that moment Ace had a feeling he hadn't had in a long time; doubt. Most heroes had never made it this far, but when they had, he had just gone in, guns blazing, and it was over before he could blink. If Ace was going to take Ratchet down he was going to need more than immense fire power, he was going to need a plan. As Ace exited the hall, the gears in his head clicked into place, and a nasty grin spread on his face. His plan was decided. The first step was to pay a little visit to their highest ranking hero.

Ratchet sighed heavily as he finished removing the last of his heavy armour. It had been another grueling day of endless fighting. How long had he, Clank, and Al been prisoners to Vox? It felt close to a month, at least. Ratchet really began to miss his freedom and friends since being kidnapped, and the accommodations did nothing to help him forget this fact.

Behind Al's workshop was a small door that led to their lavish prison. Upon entering one was immediately greeted by a living room with a circular sofa pit in the center. There was a holovision in the middle that only played Vox supported channels, which were basically the slaughtering of other innocent heroes. In the back was a kitchen, with a fully stocked fridge of Vox promoted food stuffs. To the left was the doorway to the beds and to the right was the bathroom. The one thing that bothered Ratchet to most though, was the abundance cameras in the commode. He had counted five of them in total, nearly one for each room. There was even one in the bathroom, making it hard for the lombax to do his business in there. When he did have to go he would usually throw a blanket over himself, or if he had to shower he wouldn't come out from behind the curtain until he had put on his undergarments and wrapped a towel around himself. Al tried finding a way to deactivate them but he had come up short. He couldn't shoot them because when he had tried to bring a weapon into their quarters it was instantly vaporized in his hands. It was deduced that there was some sort of force field over the door. Tossing something over the camera was out too due to its spherical design. It made Ratchet sick that Vox was watching them so closely. He felt like he couldn't breathe without that crazy bastard knowing about it. To make matters worse the front door automatically locked itself shut after nine o'clock making the whole place even more like a prison.

That night Ratchet had decided to brave the potential embarrassment and take a shower. He hadn't taken one in days and Al told him he swore he could see the stink of sweat radiating off of him. Deciding to do this well into the night, Ratchet crept past his sleeping friends, also hoping that somehow no one would be watching the cameras just in case his did accidently flash one. In his underpants and towel in tow Ratchet slunk into the lavatory. Setting the towel on a small shelf next to the shower curtain Ratchet gave the camera one last menacing glare, and a flip of the bird, before slipping into the shower. Only then did the yellow lombax strip completely nude.

Ratchet quietly washed himself, mindful of the dreadzone collar secured around his neck. Al was currently trying to find a way to remove it, so they could safely leave without Vox blowing their heads off. The lombax gave a half-hearted tug at the collar praying for the day it was finally off and they were all freed. As Ratchet finished rinsing the Captain Quark brand shampoo out of his fur he didn't hear the door close and lock as another person witnessed the lombax's late night shower.

Finally turning off the tap, Ratchet reached out and grabbed his towel. He quickly wiped the excess water out of his eyes, wrapped the towel around himself, flung aside the curtain and came face to face with the intruder.

"Ace?!" Ratchet cried nearly jumping out of his skin.

"What the hell are you doing here?! Get out!"

"Tough little man, aren't we?" Ace sneered, taking a step towards the soaking hero.

"I've just come to congratulate you on making it this far, but also saying goodbye, 'cause once you go up against me you ain't coming back."

"You came all the way here, in the middle of the night, to taunt me? Couldn't you have waited until later to give me your empty threats?" Ratchet said annoyed, trying to cover himself further with his towel.

"Empty? You think my threats are empty?!" Ace laughed.

"Which one of us currently has the death collar around their neck? Which one of us is weaponless, and naked? Which one of us is a rotten lombax rat?"

Ace quickly flung out his hand and pushed Ratchet backwards. The lombax gave out a cry of surprise as his head hit the linoleum tiles of the shower.

"What are you doing!? I thought Vox wouldn't let you kill me without cameras rolling?" Ratchet screeched trying to cover up his nakedness while simultaneously checking the back of his head for blood.

"Oh, I'm not killing you, that'd be too easy. I'm just going make sure you're too terrified to ever try and challenge me." Ace leered, and reached for the lombax.

Ratchet immediately began throwing punches and putting up a fight, that is until a painful jolt of electricity went through his body.

"Hey now! None of that, unless you want me to blast your head straight off. And if not your head, maybe your friends in the other room?" Ace Hardlight said angrily.

Ratchet narrowed his eyes at the hero turned murderer.

"It's just you who Vox needs. The chubby nerd and the pathetic robot don't even need to be here. Why don't I do him a favour and make there one less useless mouth to feed?" Ace said his finger dangerously close to the activation button.

"Don't!" Ratchet cried, his emotions overtaking him.

Ace looked at the lombax with hungry eyes and a malevolent grin on his face that made Ratchet squirm.

"Then I suggest you do what I say."

"Y-You're a coward Ace." Ratchet said softly, licking his lips.

"Well, I'm pretty sure it would take a lot of guts to do THIS!" Ace cried punching the lombax in the head. While Ratchet was dazed Ace ripped the towel from him and dragged the hero to the middle of the room.

Ratchet wiped the blood that had begun to drip from his nose when he heard the sound of Ace unbuckling his pants. It was then that Ratchet realized Hardlight's plan.

"Make sure you do a good job for the camera," Ace said nodding his chin to the thing.

"Maybe we'll make this a pay per view special. How many fans do you think would get off to little Ratchet getting dominated by the great Ace Harlight?"

Ratchet looked up into the mercenary's smug face. Ace had him trapped, he knew Ratchet had no other choice. Ratchet shuddered knowing what he had to do next. Slowly he got on his knees and faced Ace's groin.

"That's a good boy." Ace said cooingly.

Ratchet growled at him, then slowly reached out a hand. He grabbed Ace's penis and pumped it ever so gently. After a minute or so of that Ace let out a huff.

"Come on, you honestly don't expect me to get off from that! Why don't you use that cocky little mouth of yours to get the job done?"

He grabbed Ratchet's head and thrust it toward his crotch. Ratchet winced as his cheek brushed up against Ace's pubic hair. Taking one last long breathe the lombax carefully took the length into his mouth. He was no more than half way when Ace once again became impatient and plunged deep into the hero's throat. Ratchet let out a stifled gag as Ace's cock slammed against the back of his throat. Paying no mind to Ratchet's protests, Ace continued thrusting in and out of his mouth. If this went any further, Ratchet was sure, he would throw-up. As the lombax struggled for breath, Ace grunted heavily, murmuring curses. When Ratchet was almost positive he was at his breaking point, a sharp rap came from the bathroom door. Both Ratchet and Ace jumped at the suddenness of it. They both held their breath until a voice came from the other side.

"Ratchet? Are you okay in there? I heard yelling and banging." Al's voice came through from the living room.

Ace looked completely taken off guard; he must not have expected the other occupants to have heard him. It made Ratchet almost glad to see the mercenary in such distress. That feeling passed however when Ace gave Ratchet a sharp look, basically saying 'get rid of him now or else.' Ripping his gaze from the killer in front of him Ratchet faced the door to speak to one of the only people he could trust.

Ratchet's voice cracked at first but he tried to regain his composure enough to sound like his normal self.

"I-I'm Fine Al. Just fell down. I'll be okay."

"Are you sure? And I thought I heard another person's voice." Al said skeptically.

"That was, uh, probably the radio. I had it on while I was taking a shower." Ratchet lied, feeling Ace's eyes burrowing into his skull.

"W-Well... okay then. Good night." Al was heard shuffling back to the bedroom, and the two men in the bathroom sat in utter silence until the muffled sound of the bedroom door closing graced their ears.

"He almost ruined our fun," Ace Hardlight said indignantly. He let out a sigh before speaking again.

"Ah well, I was getting bored of that position anyway. How 'bout we change it up?"

Grabbing the abused lombax by the scruff of the neck Ace slammed his face to the ground so Ratchet was on his hands and knees. Ratchet let out a whimper as his cheek met with the floor tiles. Ace's finger gently traced Ratchet's entrance, while Ratchet bit his lip trying his hardest not to make noise.

"You a virgin Ratchet?" Ace asked quietly into his ear. Ratchet began to think of his past partner's. There was Sasha and Angela, and a couple other girls he had dated in the past. He had gotten pretty intimate with them, but he had never had sex. Suddenly it clicked in Ratchet's mind. This was going to be the first time he had sex, and it was by a careless maniac. His past loves had always been so gently with him, always making sure they were both comfortable and okay with whatever they wanted to do. A lone sob shook Ratchet's entire being as he thought about all the love and care his ex's had shown him.

"I'll take that as a yes." Ace chuckled watching the lombax hold back tears.

Suddenly there was another knock on the door.

"Ratchet," Clank's voice rang out. "Al told me that you seemed a bit off. Can you please talk to me?"

Ratchet scrambled to find his voice, to lie to them and tell them everything was perfectly normal. He didn't want them to know what was happening, what he was doing. Ratchet let out a few miserable attempts at words, as the knocking came again.

"I... I'm fine... Clank... everything is..."

Suddenly Ace inserted a digit into the lombax and Ratchet let out a cry of surprise and discomfort. There was a call of alarm from both Clank and Al as the two tried banged and yelled frantically from behind the door. They paused though when Ace's laugh echoed inside the washroom.

"Ace Hardlight?!" Al cried recognizing the intruder's voice.

"Ace! What are you doing to Ratchet?! I demand you let him go immediately or else I'll... I'll..." Clank demanded slamming his tiny metal fist on the door.

"Or else you'll what, small fry," Ace laughed hysterically again. "I'm the one with the collar detonation switch, and I could easily blast any one of your heads off."

Ace shoved another finger inside Ratchet, making the hero let out a stifled whimper, before continuing.

"And anyway, maybe I'm doing your friend here, a favour. Do you know how many chicks have wanted to get with the Ace Hardlight?"

"What are you talking about?" Clank cried, the bathroom door refusing to budge.

Another laugh permeated through to door.

"Honestly, are you so innocent that you can't tell what's going on here?"

Ace retracted the digits from Ratchet's anus, and aimed his cock now at the unready entrance. Waiting a moment to relish the feeling of his victim quiver underneath him, Ace smirked.

"I'm gunna fuck this little lombax whore!" And with that Ace slammed into Ratchet.

Ratchet cried out in utter pain and mortification.

Al and Clank screamed for Ace to stop, but were powerless from the other room.

Ratchet screamed from the pain. It was nothing like he'd ever felt before. He felt as if his insides were being shred to bits with each thrust. Ratchet had felt pain numerous times before, especially from his many run in from baddies during his quests to save the universe. This pain was different, he knew that even when the physical wounds had healed there would still be a emotional and mental scar that may never heal.

Ratchet's head spun as the screams of his friends and the groans from Ace filled his mind. The ordeal seemed to have gone on for an eternity when, finally, Ratchet felt and heard Ace finish. The abuser laid on top of the lombax for a minute relishing in his deal and gaining back his strength. Ratchet shivered even as Ace got off of him and buckled up his pants.

"The next time you dare to think you can beat me," Ace growled, over the fallen hero.

"I want you to remember this."

Ace then hacked up some mucus and spat on Ratchet. The lombax twitched slightly as he felt the spit make contact with his cheek. Hardlight then turned his attention to the door.

"I'm coming out now. You better not try attacking me for all of your sake."

The locked clicked open and Ace quietly opened to door. He came face to face with Al and Clank. If looks could kill Ace would have burned up as soon as he opened that door. Ace just smirked and walked past the two. With a tap of a button on Ace's lapel the front door unlocked itself let him pass than immediately became impassible once again, until morning. As soon as Ace was out of the building Clank and Al raced in to check on their friend. They could help but gasp when they saw the shape Ratchet was in.

Acting fast Clank rushed over the help his lifelong friend while Al grabbed a towel to drape over him. They helped Ratchet sit up properly watching his face to see where it was okay to touch him and move him. Ratchet hung his head while the two nervously sat unsure of what to say.

"Ratchet, please say something." Clank whispered breaking the silence.

Suddenly the lombax's head jerked up and he had this unmistakable glint in his eye. Ratchet uttered just one sentence before blacking out.

"He is going to pay."


	2. Chapter 2

Ratchet felt sick with pain and worry; it had been almost a week since "the incident". Ratchet was flown to a hospital within the shadow sector and treated for his wounds. It didn't take long for him to recuperate, Nano-tech was always a life saver, but the paparazzi had swarmed the building trying to get the full story. 'Just how did the rising gladiator on Annihilation Nation get so badly hurt, and off camera too?' Little did they know it had been on camera. Clank and Al protected Ratchet from the media by giving vague answers, stating that Ratchet had been hurt in his room and required medical attention for it. Strangely Vox and Ace had kept quiet as well. Ace knew exactly what had happened because... well he was the one who did it. And Ratchet was positive Vox knew as well since he keeps Hardlight under his thumb. Whenever Ratchet had a moment to think about what had happened he'd feel like crying, like screaming, like dying, but most of all he thought, why? Why him? Why did this happen? Why did Ace do it? Why did Vox let him? Why couldn't he stop him? Why didn't he stop him?  
Now Ratchet, Clank and Al were now back to their accommodations, the same one Ratchet and first been violated at. Big Al and Clank helped Ratchet over into the living room and onto a couch, the holovision still buzzing with Vox endorsed shows. Ratchet sighed putting his head in his hands. He would have cried right there if he hadn't been crying all the way there and the whole time he was at the hospital. Now he was just worn out, and tired of everything.  
"Do you want us to do anything for you Ratchet?" Clank asked.  
Ratchet just shook his head, not looking at Clank. All Ratchet really wanted right than was too be left alone. But suddenly a familiar face came on the holovision.  
"Attention Team DarkStar you are wanted in the Dreadzone Battlezone in one hour." Vox's voice rang throughout the commode.  
The three raised their heads in surprise toward the hologram.  
"What?!" Al cried "So soon?! We're not ready! I don't know if we even can be ready."  
"If team Dark Star isn't ready within the hour they will be disqualified, and terminated. I plan to give these paying people a show." Vox said before his image was once more replaced with the holovisions regular programming.  
The room went quiet from a moment before Big Al spoke.  
"What are we going to do?" Al cried looking desperately to Clank.  
"I do not know," Clank replied. "Ratchet's in no shape to fight. We'll have to..."  
Suddenly Ratchet jumped up, which surprised both Clank and Al.  
"No, I'm going to fight." Ratchet said seriously.  
"Are you sure Ratchet, after all that has happened...?"Clank trailed off.  
"Vox wants us to give up. He doesn't want me beating Ace. He thought he could scare me out of fighting, but I'm going to do the exact opposite. I'm going to fight harder than I ever have before. I'm going to kill Ace and Vox for doing this to us and to all the other hero's they've captured and killed." Ratchet decreed. He quickly stole a look at the living room camera, knowing that Vox was watching them intently he took a deep breath.  
"Clank get your headset and monitors working, Al get the robots up and running, I'll get my battle armour on. We're not going down without a fight."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had the idea for awhile of keeping this fic going. It was just going to be a one-shot, but I had a scene I wanted to write out. They're probably be one more chapter after this than I'm closing this up for good. Look forward to that. ;)


	3. Chapter 3

Ratchet fought harder than he ever had before. A burning, furious passion coursed through his veins. Sometimes he attacked so ferociously it actually frightened the other members of his team. Often, it seemed, they needed to remind his not to over exert himself and to try to keep his mind clear. Nothing could stand in Ratchet's way and anything that tried ended up turning to paste, so it wasn't long until Team Dark Star had worked all the way up to the last exterminator. Now Ratchet was a flame of pure fury as he walked into the ring with Ace and the announcers did nothing but feed his fire.

"Would you look at that," Dallas cried as Ratchet stalked his way toward Ace Hardlight. "The little fur ball sure does look angry. He's been pretty pissed since he got out of the hospital too, any speculation on that, Juanita?"

"I think they might have neutered the little guy while he was in for a check-up. My aunt's cat was all moody once it had its testicles removed." Juanita laughed to her co-host.

Ratchet growled under his breath, the announcers' usual banter seemed to be really getting under his skin this time. Clank, sensing his rage, tried to give his lombax friend words of encouragement through wireless communication.

Now Ratchet now stood in front of a smirking Ace. Ratchet looked to his rapist his eyes ablaze with wrath detailing all the ways he would kill him. Ace however was unfazed as he looked at the lombax, playfully with a hand on his hip.

"How's it going fuzz ball, you ready to tango?" Ace smiled.

'Let's just get this over with, without any of your bullshit, Ace." Ratchet said between gritted teeth.

"Bullshit?" Ace scoffed. "I'm just trying to give these people a show, but I can make things more interesting if you want me to."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ratchet said shaking in anger.

Ace smirked flipping his hair.

"Everyone been dying to know why you went to the hospital several weeks ago. You're friends haven't been saying anything and Vox and I decided to let everyone keep guessing. Nothing gets people talking more than a conspiracy theory."

Ratchet shook harder now, but not in anger, this time in fear.

"D-dont. Don't you dare..." Ratchet whispered almost inaudibly.

"I guess I should come clean about the whole thing now, shouldn't I? You see I was there when 'The Inccident' went down. In fact..."

Ace pulled out a remote from his harness and a jumbo-tron descended from the ceiling. Ace held a finger over the button looking at Ratchet in the same greedy stare as that horrible night.

"Ace, please," Ratchet squeaked pure horror in his eyes. "Don't do this, please."

Ace stood for a moment before flashing the lombax the most sinister smile Ratchet had ever seen.

"In fact I have the whole thing recorded for all of your viewing pleasure."

With a quick tap of a button, there from the eyes of Team Dark Stars bathroom camera, the horrendous scene began to play out. The audience watched in stunned silence as the entirety of that night played out.

"Oh shit," Dallas muttered breaking character. "Are we allowed to show this...this..."

Ratchet dropped to his knees, every detail of that shame destroying night clear for all to see; the details exactly the same as the ones in Ratchet's flashbacks and nightmares. The lombax's mouth hung open and tears streamed down his face as the only sound heard was the echoing of his screams, and Ace's laughter from the video.

Finally the video ended with Ace leaving the broken lombax on the bathroom floor and his friends rushing in to comfort him. Not a single person made a sound. Ace switched off the screen and put the controller back onto his lapel. He finally spoke breaking the deafening silence.

"I hope that clears up everyone's questions," Ace said smiling. "You know I was thinking of selling copies of that tape all over the galaxy, I think I could get quite a few bolts for..."

"Shut up!" Ratchet cried jumping up. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut the fuck up!"

"I'm going to kill you! I'm going to fucking kill you!" Ratchet screamed grabbing his blaster. Ratchet fired several rounds at Ace, screaming as he did. He only stopped after he heard the gun click empty several times. A surprised Ace stood there with his shield up. He had only a single bullet wound to his stomach, as he had quickly put up his shield once Ratchet had started shooting wildly. Clutching his stomach with one hand, Ace took a shaky breath, before putting on another shit eating grim.

"So that's how you want to play it," Ace chuckled. "I guess I deserved that, for not thinking ahead. But don't worry...you're not going to get another hit like that on me again."

And with that the battle commenced.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, I think I'm gunna end this story here. I'm glad I got to put this scene in as I'd been contemplating it for months. I'm probably gunna take a break from writing fanfic for a while cause I don't really have any motivation or ideas for stuff. I'm mostly gunna be focusing more on my own writing. I don't know when I'll write again, but until than... hope you enjoyed! See ya!
> 
> ~Baileaves


	4. Chapter 4

Ratchet fought with more ferocity, than he ever had before, his entire body emanating the utter hate and anger in his heart. Though, he would never admit it, seeing the lombax like this terrified Ace. The whole arena was deadly silent. The crowd was completely quiet and neither of the announcers had a single quip to contribute. The only noises that could be heard were the sounds of battle.

When Ratchet had first attacked, it was in blind rage. This sloppy show of power had made it easy for Ace to land a few hits on his foe. But as Clank spoke to Ratchet through his head set, he was able to slowly quell the rage boiling in his friend. As the lombax began to become calmer and more strategic in his attacks, it was then Ace Hardlight realized he was at a disadvantage.

With blow after blow successfully being landed on the former hero, Ace realized he had to do something quick or be completely done for.

Ace jumped backward out of the lombax’s reach and quickly threw his shield up again. He was losing charge on it, so he had to act quickly. Ace gingerly felt around his armour looking for his last resort.

As Ratchet lunged forward, his wrench held aloft, he prepared to break Ace’s shield and become the newest highest ranking gladiator. But, just before his wrench was about to make contact with the barrier, a painful electric shock surged through his entire body.

Ratchet gave a cry of surprise and pain and dropped his weapon in front of his foe. Then another, more excruciating shock, coursed through the lombax causing him to cry out again and fall to his knees.

Gasps followed by muttering could be heard from the crowd as the hero hit the ground. They quickly silenced as Ace began to chuckle, holding the shock collar remote in his hand. As Hardlight’s laughter filled the vast room he dropped his shield, before casually walking over to the vulnerable hero. Tapering off his laughter, Ace paused to take a breath.

“Didn’t I warn you not to go up against me?” Ace smirked “Was I not clear enough before? Or do I need to repeat the lesson?”

Ratchet’s blood went cold upon hearing those words, he attempted to stand, to say something. But with another press of the controller, Ratchet was on the floor again.

“You’re a pathetic excuse for a hero, you know that?”

“And you’re a cheating bastard.” Ratchet hissed.

Suddenly a chorus of boos erupted from the crowd. Ace looked up towards the thousands of people heckling him, and a deep frown set on his face. While he was distracted, Ratchet began to crawl toward his wrench. The lombax carefully stretched out his arm praying to have enough time to land one last blow on the villain. But luck wasn’t on his side this time.  Ace snapped out of his trance just in time to see the hero’s hand begin to close around the weapon.

“Enough!” Hardlight screamed. With a quick flick, Ace turned the death-collar’s setting near maximum and jabbed the button, letting the charge fly.

The reaction was instant. Ratchet was immediately convulsing on the ground, and screaming out in agony. Painful bolts of electricity ran rampant through Ratchet’s body. He felt like he was being slowly cooked from the inside out, but Ace stood steadfast; his face unreadable and his jaw set firmly. Ace held his finger on that button for, what felt like, an eternity before finally giving the battered hero a break.

Ratchet took in one gulping breath before breaking into a fit of coughs. Ratchet could faintly hear Clank’s concerned voice coming through his ear piece, but he couldn’t tell what he was saying over the ringing in his ears. With the little strength he had left, Ratchet rolled onto his side to hack up whatever was blocking his airway. Finally a glob of blood splashed to the ground, and the Lombax was finally able to take in slow, shuttering breaths. He didn’t get long of a break though, as Ace was quickly approaching.

Flinging the controller to the side Ace was quickly on top of Ratchet. As his hands made contact with the ground on either side of the lombax’s head, Ratchet jumped. As helplessness and panic began to slowly worm through Ratchet’s system, Ace’s face broke into a maniacal grin. Hardlight leaned in close before whispering into Ratchet’s ear.

“How ‘bout we give these people a different kind of show?” Ace murmured. He sensually licked up the side of Ratchet’s face, and his eyes went wide as his breath caught in his throat.

“How about… a live re-enactment?”

Ace’s hand slowly began to trace down Ratchet’s armoured body before lingering over his cod piece. Ratchet’s heart thundered in his ears, knowing he was too weak to do anything to fight back.

“P-Please,” Ratchet rasped “Please, no.”

Suddenly there was a bang and in the next instant Ace’s body was slumping over Ratchet’s. The lombax lay motionless in shock. Clank’s voice suddenly cut through and Ratchet was able to come back to his senses. With some effort Ratchet was able to roll Ace’s body off of himself. He stared dumbly, as he realized Ace’s head was blown clean off his shoulders. He quickly turned his view upwards to see the man who had pulled the trigger.

There stood Gleeman Vox himself, clutching a death-collar controller. You could have heard a pin drop as Vox pocketed the device, before slowly meandering over to Ratchet. The lombax stood quietly unsure of the man’s intentions, so he tensed his body preparing for the worse.

But the hero was taken completely off guard as Vox simply laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. Ratchet’s face twisted in confusion as Vox gave a big smile before addressing the crowd.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you our newest captain of the exterminators…Ratchet!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had an idea for this fic and the motivation to write it. Hopefully the rest of the chapters will be up soon, once I've finished writing and editing them.


	5. Chapter 5

Ratchet now stood in Vox’s office, bodyguards flanking either side of him. Vox sat giddily in his chair grinning from ear to ear.

“That was some excellent fighting back there my boy,”

Ratchet slouched slightly. He had only been given a meager amount of Nano-tech to tide him over before being summoned into the man’s office. But he tried to stay aloof, not trusting Vox as far as he could throw him.

“You definitely deserve the title of Grand Exterminator.” Vox chuckled stroking the alien pet on his desk.

“What about Ace, I thought he was your Champion?” Ratchet replied soberly.

Vox blew a raspberry in the air.

“Ace Hardlight was a pompous asshole, forget about him. You, on the other hand, are a real hero! The audience loves you Ratchet. You and me, we’re gunna go far kid!”

Vox spied at the Lombax through a rectangular frame he made with his fingers, but Ratchet stared back at the man, his brow creasing slightly, unamused.

“You’ll be a star! You’ll get movie deals, videogames, and your own line of colognes!” Vox began raving fanatically.

“We’ll have Ratchet breakfast cereals, Ratchet shampoo, action figures, soft drinks, sport’s shoes, and commercials, commercials, commercials!” Vox was practically salivating at this point as he thought of the billions he was going to make.

“No deal, Vox.” Ratchet said.

Vox snapped out of his stupor at that and narrowed his eyes at the small hero.

“What did you say?”

“I’m not your puppet, Vox! After everything you put me through, you think I’d just agree to be your poster boy? You let Ace rape me and show it live on air, for fuck’s sakes!” Ratchet screamed, quickly bordering on hysteria.

“Hey, he never told me he was going to air it! That stupid stunt cost me millions of views, do you know how many angry letter’s I’m going to have to sift through? It’s fine though, I’ll just pull some strings and have the whole thing covered up as a hoax.” Vox said, but Ratchet wasn’t any less irate. Vox had ruined his life, and there wasn’t any way he was going to forgive him for that. Nevertheless, Vox put his hand out to Ratchet offering the chance one last time.

“Come on kid, don’t do me like that. Trust me, once you get your first million you’ll forget all about this.”

Ratchet looked at the show host in utter contempt before replying.

“Go to hell, Vox”

Now it was his turn to be pissed. Gleeman Vox was instantly seething and his hands gripped into tight fists. His nostrils flared and he looked to be about two seconds from hitting Ratchet with everything he had. Vox shook in anger a moment more before lowering his head, and a peculiar noise passed from between his lips. As the sound became louder Vox’s posture began to relax and it was soon audible enough to make out. Gleeman Vox was laughing. Ratchet’s anger began to transform into confusion as the man finished his wheezing laughter. Vox quickly composed himself and looked up with a horrible glint in his eye, which instantly made Ratchet’s stomach churn.

“You know I was trying to be nice, but I don’t think you understand. You don’t have a choice in this, _hero._ ” Vox said his voice laced with venom.

“You’re going to be my new champion whether you like it or not. Even if I have to beat it into you.” Vox began to close the gap between them, and Ratchet’s heart began to pound hard. He tried to back away, but was soon met with the impenetrable wall of the robots behind him. Vox smirked, seeing the Lombax’s bravado begin to waver.

“I’m going to make you my bitch,” Vox breathed.

“Just like Hardlight was.”

With a sudden snap of his fingers, the bodyguards descended on Ratchet. The hero instantly sprang into action, fighting tooth and nail to break away from his attackers. But he was still weak from his fight with Ace and was quickly over powered. With a quick order from Vox, he was hoisted up to the desk and bent over it. Ratchet continued to struggle, but with a hulking robot pinning down each arm, the little hero didn’t stand a chance.

Vox casually strolled over to the face of his victim, before cupping Ratchet’s chin in one hand. Ratchet growled at him, his eyes alight in hatred.

“It’s funny, you remind me of Ace when I first offered him the position. He’d hesitated in the beginning, but I was able to convince him in the end.” Vox smiled like a shark eyeing its prey.

“All he needed was a ‘persuasive argument’.” Vox said running his tongue over his teeth, before moving back behind the lombax. Ratchet felt as Vox’s hands landed on his hips and worked at removing his armour.

“Don’t! Don’t you fucking dare!” Ratchet screeched fighting with all the strength he could muster. It did little to deter the man, as Vox casually hummed holding the boy down with minimal effort. Ratchet’s body began to break into a cold sweat as the armour around his pelvis clicked open with ease. Once the tough material was off Vox began to roughly grab at Ratchet’s underwear clad ass.

“I’ll kill you, I swear to God I’m going to fucking kill you!” Ratchet muttered between clenched teeth.

Vox laughed, “You say that now kid, but I guarantee you in a couple weeks’ time you’ll be on your knees begging for my cock.”

Vox didn’t spare a second as he gripped Ratchet’s waistband and pulled the cloth down to his knees. The show host spread the lombax’s cheeks and admired his hole.

“Hmm, looks like it’s gunna be a little tight. You think I should use some lube?” Vox asked to no one in particular.

“Go fuck yourself.” Ratchet muttered in response.

Gleeman Vox tsked at that.

“Now, now that’s no way to speak to your boss. Look, I’ll tell you what, if you asked nicely for lube I might just oblige. But if you keep talking like that, I’ll have no choice but to go in raw.”

Ratchet set his jaw at that. He didn’t want to give Vox the satisfaction he wanted. But he knew just how much it would hurt after suffering through the same with Ace.

“Not talking huh? Well, I’ll give you a minute to think your answer over,” Vox said.

“But until then let me give you a little taste of what’s to come.”

Slowly, Vox inserted a digit into Ratchet’s rectum.

Ratchet bit down hard on his lower lip, as the foreign object probed around his insides. Than another finger was added, and another. Ratchet’s whole body quaked as his lip began to bleed from the pressure he was putting on it. Vox was going too fast and rough, deliberately tormenting him. Ratchet could feel the stinging sensation of cuts starting to form from the mistreatment. As Vox dug around inside, his fingers suddenly brushed up against his prostate. A unexpected gasp was torn from the Lombax’s throat, much to his tormentor’s pleasure and his dismay.

“Did I hit the right spot there, kid? Maybe it’s time I gave you the real deal.”

Ratchet’s ears pricked up as he heard the unmistakable sound of a belt being undone. Than he felt the blunt wet tip of Vox’s member push up against him and Ratchet’s heart skipped a beat.

“W-wait, wait wait, no!” The words sprung from his mouth in fear and desperation, as Ratchet struggled in the tight grip of the apathetic robots.

Vox obliged to his pleas, pausing for just a moment.

“Changed your mind about the lube, kiddo?” Vox asked.

The hero snapped his jaw shut, silently cursing himself for the outburst. He wasn’t going to give Vox what he wanted. He refused. Ratchet still clung to the hope that he, Clank and Al would be one day free of this prison. Giving into the maniac now meant that all his fighting up until now had been for nothing. He had survived Vox’s death gauntlet this long. Ratchet was determined to cling to his last shred of dignity; even if it killed him.

Vox waited a moment more for Ratchet to reply, but when he was met with nothing but silence Gleeman Vox sighed.

“Guess your bent on doing this the hard way than.”

In one quick motion, the show host gripped the lombax by the waist and tail, and he lined his dick up with Ratchet’s entrance. Ratchet couldn’t help the shudder that wracked his body in morbid anticipation.

Vox leaned over the hero and licked his ear sensually before purring,

“Fine by me.”

With that Vox began to force himself inside. Ratchet let out a strangled noise as Vox’s shaft made its way inside him. The pain was worse than he remembered and there seemed to be no end in sight. Vox let out a deep moan as he slowly pushed himself in, before finally bottoming out; his pelvis pushed flush with Ratchet’s ass. He paused for a second, relishing in the hero’s warmth before beginning to buck into him.

Ratchet yelped at that first thrust before biting his lip and arching his head into the desk. Vox grunted loudly as he slowly worked himself into a steady rhythm.

“Fuck, you really are tight.” Vox growled between pants for breath. Tears pricked in Ratchet’s eyes as he felt his blood begin to act as lubrication. Vox was picking up speed now, steadily building to release. As his grunting became louder, Ratchet tried to muffle any noises he made into the hardwood desk below him.

“Heh, your awfully quiet now, kid. What’s wrong, cat got your tongue?” Vox let out a barking laugh. Ratchet blinked in surprise though, as he felt Vox suddenly still.

“You can’t hide from me Ratchet, I want to hear how much you’re enjoying this.” Vox said.

Quickly the bots let go of him and flipped him on his back before pinning him again. Ratchet cried out in surprise and glanced up to his tormentor out of instinct. Vox’s sweat slicked face smiled at Ratchet’s apparent misery. He went to turn his head away but Vox quickly cupped it to look him in the eye. Ratchet growled at him, his face a mask of hatred.

“Now, there’s my good little whore. You know Ratchet, I’m not all bad. In fact, why don’t I give you a treat for being such a good boy for me?”

Taking the hand that was wrapped around his tail, Vox reached over and began to stroke Ratchet’s limp cock. Ratchet bit his bleeding and abused lip once more, trying to stifle the moan that was being pulled from his over stimulated body. Vox leaned over the quivering hero beneath him and began to plant kisses along his neck.

“Don’t hold back now.” Vox whispered huskily.

Quickly Vox picked up where he left off, rhythmically plowing into the unwilling form below him. With one hand holding him by the waist and the other massaging his dick, Ratchet couldn’t help the groans that passed between his lips. When Vox suddenly bit down on the tender flesh of his neck a loud moan mixed with a sob was pulled from him, and Ratchet hated himself for it. He could feel himself breaking. With each thrust, each kiss, each electric pulse of pain and pleasure that surged up his body, Ratchet’s resolve crumbled. Vox was hammering into him now, grunting animalistically as he did, and Ratchet could do very little to hide the gasps and groans being ripped from his exhausted, battered body.

Soon enough though, Vox let out a deep growl before finishing, thrusting deep inside the hero to fill him with his seed. After riding out his orgasm, Vox messily pulled out of Ratchet making him shudder violently at the feeling. The two of them panted heavily, filling the room with the scent of sweat, blood, and sex. Vox took one last deep breath before composing himself; tucking himself back into his pants and wiping the sweat from his brow. He looked to his victim who, still held down by the robots, had his head turned and his eyes unfocused and bleary from unfallen tears.

“Looks like you didn’t come,” Vox pointed out Ratchet’s rapidly softening prick. Vox gave himself the once over, making sure he didn’t look out of place, before leaning over Ratchet and forcing his head up to kiss him roughly on his swollen lips.

“Oh well, there’s always next time.” Vox breathed against his skin. Finally Gleeman Vox pulled away from the barely conscious lombax to address his robotic henchmen.

“Clean him up, and send him back to his suite. I want him in top shape for the show tomorrow.” Vox ordered in a professional manner.

The robots gave a quick affirmation before dragging the semi-conscious body out of the office.


	6. Chapter 6

Clank paced back and forth through Al’s workshop. He hadn’t heard anything from Ratchet since his ‘fight’ with Ace, and he was worried sick. After the whole ordeal, Vox had whisked Ratchet away to his office. Clank was livid with Vox, with the late Ace, and with the whole Vox network in general. How was Ratchet going to deal with this? After what Ace did to him, and showing that revolting footage for everyone to see. It made the little robot sick. But Ace was dead now, killed by Vox himself and that made little sense to Clank as well. If Ace was Vox’s top exterminator, why did he kill him? And what would become of Ratchet? That thought scared him the most. If Vox was so quick to dispose of Ace, then what’s stopping him from doing the same to his friend? Ratchet had been gone for a long while now, and Clank couldn’t get the image of Ace’s headless corpse out of his head.

“Can you please stop pacing, you’re making me nervous.” Ace poked his head up from a modification he was working on for the combat bots.

“What do you think Vox wants with Ratchet?” Clank asked for the fifteenth time.

“I don’t know.” Al sighed rubbing his head. He too was worried about Ratchet, but was trying to keep himself busy to keep his mind off of it. But it didn’t seem to be working. He had made little to no progress on his work. With an exasperated sigh Al moved around from behind his desk to stand next to Clank.

“Do you think he is okay?” Clank asked the same question he always followed up with.

“I don’t know.” Al said.

Just than the two of them spotted a ship docking outside and the two ran to meet the person exiting.

“Ratchet!” Clank exclaimed as he approached his friend.

“Are you okay? What happened with Vox?”

Ratchet glanced over at him. A frown set on his face and his shoulders sagging greatly, before recognizing the two and smiling like his normal self.

“I’m fine, pal.” Ratchet said happily.

Clank and Al looked to each other, the two of them catching something amiss in Ratchet’s facade. They both immediately got a flashback to the night in the bathroom with Ace.

“A-Are you sure?” Al asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Ratchet said a little more forcefully.

“What happened with Vox?” Clank repeated.

“Oh, nothing important. How’s cracking the Deadlock collars coming, Al?” Ratchet asked.

“Oh, uh, i-it’s getting there,” Al stammered. “I think I’ll have it in just about a week…”

“Not good enough!” Ratchet interrupted, his voice coming out sharp.

Al and Clank jumped at the suddenness of it. Ratchet cleared his throat before continuing.

“I mean, I think we better go with plan b.” Ratchet said firmly.

“You mean deactivating the containment field? I don’t know… it’ll be risky. Once I reprogram the arena transport pod, you won’t be able to come back.” Al said.

“I’m willing to take that risk. How soon can you get it done?” Ratchet demanded.

“Uh, I think it will take me just about an hour.”

“Good, get Green and Merc ready to go by then.”

“So soon?” Clank asked “Are you sure about this Ratchet? Maybe you should rest for the night.”

Ratchet took a knee so he was at eye level with Clank.

“I don’t know how much longer I can keep fighting for, pal. I think we should do this sooner rather than later.”

Clank looked into Ratchet’s eyes. They sparkled a bright green with the smile he wore, but he could see something else. Something reminiscent of the same expression he had worn after that night with Ace, but more intense. Like the threat he would be hurt the same way again was very, very real. Ratchet was pleading for him to trust him and to help him get out of here before he could be hurt again. Silently, Clank agreed to help, gently taking Ratchet’s hand in his own, noticing the way he flinched slightly when he took it.

‘Just tell me what happened when we get out of here.’ Clank wordlessly conveyed.

Ratchet nodded ‘I will. I promise.’

After a moment Ratchet stood back up and stretched, before clapping his hands together. Just like he would do before starting a project back home.

“Right, let’s get to work!”


	7. Chapter 7

Ratchet awoke screaming.

Clank jumped awake as well, startled by his friend’s sudden reaction.

“Ratchet! Are you okay?” Clank asked worriedly.

The lombax had just woken from the first dream he had since destroying Vox’s enterprise. In his dream Vox and Ace were still alive and were holding him down raping him. Their hands were everywhere and, even awake, he swore he could still smell the lingering musk of sex.

“Ratchet?” Clank repeated, concerned when he didn’t reply.

“I’m fine Clank, just a bad dream.” Ratchet finally replied, sighing. He didn’t need to tell Clank. He had been fine the entire time since they took down Vox, which was two weeks ago. With the distraction of parades, press conferences, and all the celebration that came from taking down the network, he had been so distracted he didn’t have the time to really think about everything that had happened. He had planned on keeping it that way. Surely he could push the whole ordeal to the back of his mind, and forget the unpleasant parts of his latest adventure. Yet he couldn’t get them out of his head. He swore he could feel them right now Touching him all over. Breathing on his skin. The room felt like it was getting smaller, and was it him or was it getting hard to breathe in here.

“I’m fine,” He repeated. Just like he had repeated the night he was locked in the bathroom with Ace. Just like the time after he had been held down by Vox’s robots in his office.

 “Everything’s…” Ratchet touched his face. It was wet with tears. His rapist’s voices suddenly rang out, as clear as day.

_“Make sure you do a good job for the camera.”_

_“You can’t hide from me Ratchet, I want to hear how much you’re enjoying this.”_

_“That’s a good boy.”_

_“Now, there’s my good little whore.”_

_“I want you to remember this.”_

Ratchet’s breath caught in his throat. Ace and Vox had used him, used him for entertainment. Made him kill, made him fuck, made him perform for their own sick enjoyment. He had just let it happen.

Suddenly Ratchet jumped out of his bed and took off for their apartment balcony. Air! He needed air! He was suffocating! Ratchet flung open the door and leaned over the balcony. Gripping the railing for dear life, he sucked in huge gasps for air. He could still hear them. He could still feel them; their ghostly hands squeezing the life out of him. Everything was going black.

“Ratchet!” A familiar voice called out to him.

“Just breathe, you are okay. Just breathe.”

There was a small hand on his back too, moving in slow circles. Ratchet synchronized himself with it; breathing in when the hand was at the highest point on his back, and breathing out when it got to the lowest. In…Out…In…Out. The blackness receded, and the bright lights of Metropolis greeted him. Ratchet finally turned to Clank. The little robot nervous but thankful to see his friend had stopped panicking.

“I’m not fine,” Ratchet whispered as if speaking a well-kept secret.

“Everything’s not fine.”

Clank took Ratchet’s hand and gave it a firm but gentle squeeze.

 “That is okay,” Clank said “I will help you make it fine again.”

The two of them stood there quietly holding hands and listening to the white noise of the city life below them, as the early morning sun bathed them in a warm glow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had been putting off this final chapter for a while now, mostly because I couldn't figure out exactly how I want to end it. I've rewritten this chapter maybe three times, now. The original draft was much longer, but there were too many things I didn't like about it. This version is shorter, but I feel is much more poignant.


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